The United States is the undisputed leader of the fast-food world, yet it is not immune to the troubles currently hitting the sector hard. The industry keeps growing, especially in the American market, but only for companies able to reinvent themselves quickly whenever they need to. With even McDonald’s starting to feel the strain, it was fairly predictable that the crisis would reach Wendy’s as well — the country’s most popular chain, second in sales only to a California-based rival. Here is what is happening.

The first Wendy’s store was opened by Dave Thomas in Columbus, Ohio, in 1959. Both the name and the chain’s logo are a tribute to Thomas’s daughter, who was only 8 years old at the time. The restaurant was an immediate hit with American consumers, expanding beyond Ohio’s borders after about a decade and then across the rest of the world. Wendy’s signature products — the brand became a full-fledged chain in the 1980s — have stayed the same since its very first sales: beef patties made with fresh, italicnever frozenitalic meat, the Frosty ice-cream dessert, and its square hamburgers.

Today, with nearly 6,000 restaurants and a far broader menu — thanks in part to recent additions — those original products are still the chain’s strong suit. Wendy’s also boasts a string of industry firsts, owed largely to Dave Thomas’s ingenuity: he introduced an early drive-through service, the italicPick-Up Windowitalic; the first ultra-low-cost menu (the italicSuper Valueitalic menu launched in 1989, with 9 items priced at 99 cents each); and a light chocolate dessert. In short, Wendy’s is a brand that works, and it is certainly not destined to fall behind any time soon — but it is equally true that it is going through a period of intense crisis that demands careful decisions.

More than 300 locations are about to close

Strange as it may sound, Americans are buying less and less from fast-food restaurants. The economic downturn, shifting tastes and dietary priorities, and the broader global climate are all working against the purchase of burgers and the like. Even though it is the quintessential American comfort food, the price level has become discouraging for the segment of consumers the chains target. Let there be no misunderstanding: the numbers posted by the best-known fast-food chains are still stellar, but their growth is thin and hanging by a thread.

In recent years Wendy’s had held up resiliently — no spectacular growth, but no major losses either. The final quarter of 2025, however, revealed the start of a potentially fatal crisis. At US restaurants open for at least a year, sales fell 11.3%, a figure that forced the Wendy’s Company into an immediate restructuring. Twenty-eight restaurants were closed straight away, while interim CEO Ken Cook announced further closures during the current half of the year.

Specifically, the plan involves 5% to 6% of the company’s locations (5,959 in total), meaning the number of restaurants pulling down their shutters will land somewhere between 298 and 358. It is not yet clear which ones — though reports point to the Midcoast area, as well as Texas and California — nor what will happen to the staff. A sizable share of employees will likely be reassigned to other locations, circumstances permitting.

Wendy’s survival strategy is clear, and effective in its swiftness: halt the underperforming restaurants immediately in order to focus on streamlining the chain. Many openings are in fact planned around the world — including in Italy, where the brand wants to reach roughly 170 restaurants by 2033 — along with new products and services aimed at meeting customer demand.

Editor’s note

This article was originally published in Italian on money.it by Ilena D’Errico on May 22, 2026 as «La catena di fast food più popolare negli USA è in crisi. Oltre 300 punti vendita stanno per chiudere». It has been translated and adapted for an international audience by the Money.it International desk.